A Spring of Joy

Glimpses of our world…

Wednesday Worship: Change The Way

Romans 12:1 says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices… this is your spiritual act of worship.” God reminds me again and again that worship isn’t just what happens on Sundays at church, or at small group meetings, or at intentional times of worship with friends. Worship isn’t just singing when I need something from Him to fill that emotional need in my heart and mind. Worship is a sacrifice. Worship is a lifestyle. Worship is offering my whole body to Him.

I said it last week, we become what we worship. If we worship self, we become self-absorbed and narcissistic. If we worship food, we become gluttons. If we worship our body image, we become obsessed with beauty and the false beauty of our culture. If we worship sports, we become more concerned with who won the game than about the enjoyment of it, or we fill our children’s lives so full of sports activities that we lose who they are in our idol. If we worship order, we become slaves to our to-do lists. If we worship television, we become deceived into a mindset that life is the false reality of our favorite shows and expect life to entertain us. If we worship education, we become fixated on how knowledgeable we are or how smart our children are. If we worship money, we care more about material things than we do about eternal things. I could go on forever… but what we need more than anything is to comprehend what it means to worship Him!

How my heart needs to be rearranged! Sunday, while driving home from NOVA, Bri and I listened to a sermon by John Piper on mercy (can I get an AMEN?!) and then we sang together for an hour. Just listening and crying (well, me crying) and praising. We listened to Aaron Shust’s Anything Worth Saying album in its entirety, plus some. Plus some, because I kept hitting repeat on the iPod for almost every song.

Aaron’s song, Change The Way, has always been one of my favorites from that album, but as we sang it together on Sunday, I started to cry (again). I think I subjected Bri to singing this five times (at least) on our drive. (Don’t worry, he just smiled at me and sung a new harmony each time.)

I was blown away by the truth of how my heart needs rearranged. I need to see Jesus in a whole new way. As much as I long for healing of my body, I need healing of my eyes and my heart first. I need to know His love and grace. I long to live like a daughter of the KING.

What would it look like for our hearts and our praise to be rearranged? How would our lives change? How would our worship change?

Today I am praying for my eyes to be healed so I will see Him and worship him fresh.

How is God healing your eyes this week?

http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fsprofjoy-20%2F8014%2Fdff8a05d-7f65-4268-a3a9-ea535380c745&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate Amazon.com Widgets

King of all the universe
We love You
And we come to You now
Asking for Your healing touch
We need You
This very hour

Would you help us comprehend
What it means to worship You
‘cause we’re blinded by our circumstance
Heal our eyes today

May we know Your love;
Feel it course through our veins
Encircling our hearts and embracing our souls
We need Your love
And grace to remain, to rearrange our hearts
And change the way we praise

Son of God who took my place
We thank You and may we realize
You’ve made us righteous in His sight
You took our wrongs and made them right
We owe You all of our lives

May we know Your love;
Feel it course through our veins
Encircling our hearts and embracing our souls
We need Your love
And grace to remain, to rearrange our hearts
And change the way we praise

Love me, Father, for I am Your son
(and I am Your daughter)

angie

October 15, 2008

The Music Conservatory

3 responses to “Wednesday Worship: Change The Way”

Judie Young

October 15, 2008 at 1:26 pm

My dear Angie,

What a hunger and thirst for Him. You will be filled, the roots of your being will go down deep into Him and wrap themselves around the vine dresser. My dear one, this clinging of yourself to Him will make us who are doing the same, know our need of each other. Thank God He is perfecting our faith and causing it to abound in praise to our King Jesus.

John 6:44-45- We have been drawn by the Father who sent Christ to Christ Himself. As we are taught by Father and learn from the Father we come to Christ.

Let’s look unto Christ the author and finisher of our faith.

In His love we are knitted together,
Judie

LikeLike

Reply
Natalie

October 15, 2008 at 11:06 pm

God is healing my eyes by revealing blessings that have always been there but that I’ve failed to see. While driving in the car tonight, I was talking with my good friend about how she liked Philly b/c she also lives in the city. And not only did we have just good conversation, but I also saw through our conversation just how blessed I am to have found a church family. And to be a part of a Bible Study. And although my relationships here are still new and I still feel lonely some days, I realized that God has surrounded me with fellow Christians. And fellow students who also know and understand me and can sympathize with me. Yes, God is working to heal my eyes in order to look past the things/relationships I feel that I am lacking, but rather look to the ways He has surrounded and provided for me. I pray this is a rearranging of my heart. Don’t we all need that so desperately?

LikeLike

Reply
Sarah Wingard

October 16, 2008 at 10:26 pm

Thank you Angie. This means more to me right now than you can know. I do pray that He would heal my eyes, rearrange my heart. Give me a new vision and a fresh love for Him.

LikeLike

Reply